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Delta says no to in-flight cell calls

By Kelly YamanouchiThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA — Amid a debate over whether to allow in-flight cellphone calls, Delta Air Lines is giving one answer, loud and clear: No way, no how.

Atlanta-based Delta issued a statement Wednesday reiterating its position against cellular calls on Delta or Delta Connection flights, even if the Federal Communications Commission changes regulations to allow them.

After the FCC said it would review its ban of in-flight cellular calls, some other airlines have also said their customers don’t want such calls allowed.

But Delta said it is making the clearest, strongest statement that cellphone calls will not be allowed on its flights — with a determined wag of its finger.

“Even as technology advances and as regulations are changed, we will not only consider what we can do, but as importantly we will also consider what is right for our customers and employees,” Delta Chief Executive Richard Anderson said in a memo to employees Wednesday.

A survey last year of more than 1,400 Delta passengers showed 64 percent of customers disapproved of or didn’t like the idea of voice calls on the airplane.

That said, if the FCC lifts its ban on cellular use, Delta will “move quickly to enable customers to use text, email and other silent data-transmission services,” Anderson wrote in the memo.